A Bit of Duct Tape
by Soul-sis
Summary: Cornelius learns that all it takes is a bit of duct tape to mend a broken heart.


**Hello! Here is a random oneshot! My school has been a bit depressed lately, and I wrote this to make me feel better and to get my thoughts together, and then I ended up liking it so now it's posted! Enjoy! **

P.S Franny is 19; Cornelius is 21.

**

* * *

**Franny stormed inside and threw her backpack on the floor, almost killing the cat. She slammed the door and Gaston almost crashed into the door.

"Franny?" Gaston called after her.

"Leave me alone or I'll kill you!" Franny exclaimed as she went up to her room. Franny slammed her door, trying to blink her tears away. She glanced to the fish tanks filled with frogs. She glanced at each one.

She and the frogs stared at each other, wondering who would move first. Then Frankie made a ribit sound, and that broke Franny. She fell to the ground, unable to control the tears. She couldn't get up to turn on some music, then again, she didn't have a care for music.

She heard a knock on the door, then Art's voice.

"Franny? Are you ok? You looked really upset today," Art said.

"Go away!" Franny screamed at the door.

She hated her life. She just wanted to crawl into a corner and die. She felt heartbroken, and she was. One of her pet cats, Olympia recently died. Olympia was her very own cat she got for her fifth birthday, and fourteen years later, she died. Eleven was a good age for a cat to die, and Olympia was the happiest cat in the world.

That wasn't the only thing bothering her. She also went through a break-up earlier that day. Drake decided to break up with her, after she had told him that she was depressed about Olympia.

Two things brought her down, and she wondered if she could even be happy again. She pulled herself onto her bed. She saw a paper on her bed. It was Alfred Lord Tennyson's famous quote: "'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

"Yeah right," Franny glared at the quote. "I'd rather not love at all. You don't get hurt that way."

Franny wondered what her life would be with without love. It wouldn't be as happy, but without love meant that the heartaches would be gone.

She heard another knock on the door.

"Leave me alone!" Franny yelled at the door.

"Franny, it's me," Cornelius' voice drifted into the room.

She didn't even want to see her best friend, but she liked to know that she had a friend when she felt so alone. "Don't come in. My make-up is smeared."

Cornelius ignored the request and entered her room. She was right, her make-up was smeared. Mascara and eye-liner was running down her face, and her cheeks and eyes were red and puffy.

"Are you gonna tell me what's wrong, or am I gonna have to make an invention that lets me read your mind?" Cornelius asked.

"Oh, you know, dead cats and break-ups," Franny said, wiping some of the make-up off of her face.

"Bad week, huh?" Cornelius asked, sitting beside Franny.

"Bad life," Franny said.

"It's not that bad. It'll get better," Cornelius said, wrapping his arms around her.

She felt safe, knowing that someone who wasn't family actually loved her and cared about her. But that was exactly what she didn't want.

"I don't want to love you," Franny whispered.

"Who said anything about love?" Cornelius asked.

"Just so you know, my heart shattered into a million pieces," Franny said.

"I have some duct tape," Cornelius said.

"No," Franny said. She wanted to get away from Cornelius, but she liked the way he held her. She felt like everything would be alright in his arms. "I don't want to love again."

"I'm not asking you do love me. I'm trying to make you feel better," Cornelius said, then he briefly paused. "Why don't you want to love again?"

"Each time I trust someone, they leave me. It hurts a lot, you know," Franny said, closing her eyes and leaning her head against his shoulder. She couldn't help herself, she loved the feeling that he cared for her, but she knew it would only end with tears.

Cornelius was in a hard spot. He knew that he would end up with Franny, but he didn't know if she would love him now, or later on. He decided to not try to force her to love him, that would only end badly, and she just needed a friend at the moment.

"Do you feel better now?" Cornelius asked.

"I'll never feel better," Franny whispered.

He couldn't stand to see her this upset. He hated to see her without a smile, and he only wanted her smile.

"Can I do anything to make you feel better?" He asked. He would do anything for her, and if she wanted him to move the moon, he would make an invention to change the position of the moon.

"There's nothing you can do that'll make me feel better," Franny said sadly.

That answer wasn't good enough for Cornelius. He knew he could do something for her, something to make her happy for at least two seconds. He turned to the fish tanks as he was forming an idea.

One of the frogs make a sound, and Franny's eyes shot open and she glared at the frog, looking as if the frog would instantly die.

"Oh, would you just shut up?" Franny exclaimed, pushing away from Cornelius. She went over to the tanks and glared down at the harmless frog. "They can't sing! They just cant! I was wrong!" She picked up a simple music book. "I have this in front of their faces, and they can hardly sustain a note!"

Tears came back to her as she threw the book to the ground. He knew that she didn't really mean that, she was only upset and the smallest thing could make her even more upset.

"Franny, it's not that bad, and I promise you it will get better," Cornelius said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

She turned to face him, looking almost emotionless. She knew that she had always loved him, since she met him, but she couldn't risk another heartbreak.

"I don't want to love you, so stop making me love you," Franny said. "It just won't work." She drew in a deep breath, not wanting to ruin their strong friendship. "Cornelius, you are a great friend, and I wouldn't do anything to hurt you...but I'm sorry."

"If you want me to be your friend, and only a friend, then I will," Cornelius said, hoping that was supposed to happen.

Cornelius left after one final hug, and he knew that there was some way to make her happy. He just couldn't see her like that.

* * *

Cornelius had no idea what to do about his problem. He tried to write down ideas in his room, but nothing came into his mind.

"Hey, there, Corny," Bud said, knocking one, then coming in. He looked over his son's shoulder to see a few words written down.

"Hey, Dad," Cornelius said.

"And what's the matter with you?" Bud asked.

"I guess you could call it girl trouble," Cornelius admitted.

"Oh, well, when a man and a women love each other very much-"

"No, Dad. We went through that already, remember?" Cornelius asked, and the two shuddered at the past experience.

"So, what's your problem? Maybe I can help," Bud said with pride. "I after all invented fire-proof pants!"

"They explode when fire touches them," Cornelius reminded him.

"There are a few bugs...," Bud said to himself, then he got back to the main topic. "So girl problems, huh? Well, you should march right up to that lucky girl and tell her how much you love her!"

"It's harder than that," Cornelius said. He explained the Franny problem with great detail, and almost every quote was perfect word for word. Bud nodded here and there and thought hard on how to make Franny happy.

Finally, Bud had his answer. "She'll have to get over her sorrows herself, but you can try to make her happy. Try doing something for her that's she'll love. It's the thought that counts."

Now Cornelius had to find something that she loves. He knew everything about her, and everything she likes, but he couldn't think of what to do. This was a lot harder than it had sounded, and Bud waited patiently for his son to should out "eureka!" or something else, but it never happened.

"I have to go now. I have to mark some quizzes," Bud said after a long wait. "By the way, how are Franny's frog coming?"

Bud left the room, and the moment he closed the door, he heard Cornelius shout "Eureka!".

* * *

She still looked sad. Time had passed, but she still thought of her losses, and ignored everyone else who cared about her. She slowly walked up the lab stairs with Cornelius at her side, and the only reaction she had when she reached the top was surprise.

"My frogs?" Franny asked.

"You were wrong," Cornelius said. "They _can_ sing."

"You taught them?" Franny asked. "But how?"

"I talked to your brothers and they told me when you left the house, and I taught the frogs while you were gone," Cornelius explained. "I did a more scientific approach, though. It's almost like mind-control, but not as serious."

"Can they sing right now?" Franny asked.

Cornelius nodded at the frogs, and they began to sing a Capella. Their voices needed lots of training, but the frogs were singing nonetheless.

If they asked me, I could write a book;  
About the way you walk, and whisper;  
And look.  
I could write a preface;  
On how we met;  
That the world will never forget.

And the simple;  
Secret of the plot;  
Is just to tell them-

The frogs stopped short when they noticed a fly hovering over Cornelius' shoulder, and then all hell broke loose. The frogs attacked Cornelius, and they tackled him, trying to get that fly. There was a chorus of ribits, and the song had come to a complete end.

Franny helped Cornelius up, who still had a frog on his shoulder. He was worried that she wouldn't like it since the song had stopped, but she had the faintest smile.

"So d-did you like it?" Cornelius asked.

She went on her toes to be more of his height. "I loved it." She kissed him, which was the last thing he expected, and it was the last thing she wanted to do, but she couldn't help herself. The frog jumped from Cornelius and landed on Franny's head, ruining the moment, but she broke out in laughter, and he knew that he had put her heart back together.

* * *

**This is my first purely romance fanfic and I suck at romance. A bit of romantic constructive criticism would be nice. :) **


End file.
